The Return of the Realm

The Return of the Realm - Saxon Andrew I really like these books in the Ashes of the Realm and Annihilation series even though the story is sometimes a bit naive and childishly written. It’s really Science Fiction on a grand scale. Forget about puny little fleets fighting over a planet or two. In these books the author juggles galaxies and universes like they were apples and oranges. Actually, the scale is almost too big.

Sure, the hero worshipping and simplicity by which people are made to see the truth or the “right way” is sometimes a bit tiring but it’s refreshing to read stories that are really about true heroes fighting for the right thing and really fighting at that, not just talking and wiggling themselves out of the problems. The bad guys need a spanking so that’s what they get…bit time!

I could be without the multiple “I abdicate in favor of…” stuff though. You have to read the book to see what I talk about but it got a bit tiring. In general I didn’t really think the rehashing of the “structures” and juggling around with emperors, queens, realms and empires really added that much positive to the book.

I wonder if the author has any plans for another book. The way this ended it could really be the last. There was no distinct cliffhanger. If there is another one I am a bit worried that the book series have been brought back to where Annihilation ended which means that galaxies and universes gets destroyed at a frightening speed. It is part of what makes the series special but it also leaves little room for moving on. You can hardly make the environment any larger than a multi-universe scale and I’m not sure it would be a good read if the author tried. It’s already rather overwhelming.